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CJFE summary of Bill C-461
CJFE believes that Bill C-461 does critical damage to the CBC’s ability to conduct its work as an arm’s-length public broadcaster. It is not a state broadcaster, but a public broadcaster – a crucial distinction which makes it fundamentally different from other government departments. That is why other parliamentary democracies protect these broadcasters with exclusions like the one current in section 68.1 of the ATIA. Canada should do no less. Bill C-461 has many problems:- • The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice has pointed out that the current wording of C-461 “would not allow the CBC to provide its confidential journalistic sources with an ironclad guarantee of continued anonymity.” In contrast the existing section 68.1, now clarified by the courts, clearly protects the “absolute” right of the CBC to use the exclusion for confidential sources.
- • The injury test rests upon a very narrow and vague term – prejudice to the CBC’s journalistic, creative and programming independence. This is insufficient to protect the CBC’s inherent right to freedom of expression and the integrity of its journalism.
- • Because of the same dependence on an injury test based upon the notion of independence, the privacy measures of C-461 could lead to disclosure of information collected solely for journalistic reasons and as a result jeopardize the corporation’s reputation in ways that no other media outlet would accept.
Statements on Bill C-461
CJFE | Bill C-461 threatens CBC journalistic integrity and protection of sources CBC | Speaking Notes for Maryse Bertrand before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics CBC | Bill C-461 and CBC/Radio Canada: What Does It Mean For Us? FPJQ | Vote Down Bill C-461: A Submission by Quebec's Professional Federation of Journalists CMG | Do No Harm: Why Parliament Should Vote Down Bill C-461Bill C-461 in the news
iPolitics | CBC Decries Proposed Access to Information Changes May 27, 2013
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